SPAIN 1-0 GERMANYThe better team won this as Spain repeated their Euro 2008 Final triumph over Germany, passing their opponents to death in a 1-0 win. For all of their possession and flowing football, the goal came from the least 'cultured' player in the team, Carles Puyol, who hammered in a header from Xavi's corner midway through the second half. Germany will be disappointed, but they struggled to get the ball and looked disjointed on the counter-attack against a team who - unlike both England and Argentina - were strong in midfield and organised without the ball. The Germans aren't used to losing this kind of encounter, and looked genuinely stunned after rollicking through the tournament scoring goals for fun... until tonight! Neither Spain nor Holland have really shone in this tournament, but one of them will win the World Cup for the first time in their history this weekend and it should be a fascinating game.

93'

IT'S ALL OVER!The final whistle goes and Spain are through to their first ever World Cup Final. With Holland waiting in the final, South Africa 2010 will have a first-time World Cup winner lifting the trophy in Johannesburg on Sunday!

92'

THIRD SPANISH CHANGEDel Bosque makes his final switch, bringing on Marchena - who has never lost in his 53 appearances for Spain - in place of Alonso.

90'

ADDED TIMEThe fourth official reveals that there will be three minutes for Germany to grab an equaliser. The tension in Durban is unbearable!

88'

TRYING TO WALK IT IN!A string of Spanish players turn down shooting opportunities as they try and walk the ball into the net. Both Silva and Iniesta were culpable there and Spain may live to regret this profligacy.

87'

GREAT TACKLE!Spain break again, but this time Torres opts to go alone, and almost squirms into a shooting position, only to be denied by a last-gasp Friedrich tackle.

86'

ANOTHER WASTE!Spain have acres of space again in the Germany half, but Torres' final pass is poor and the opportunity to send Silva clean through on goal goes begging as Mertesacker intercepts.

86'

ANOTHER WASTE!Spain have acres of space again in the Germany half, but Torres' final pass is poor and the opportunity to send Silva clean through on goal goes begging as Mertesacker intercepts.

85'

SPAIN CHANGEPedro makes way to be replaced by Silva.

84'

LOOKING FOR A PENALTYBoth Klose and Schweinsteiger go down theatrically in the box looking for a penalty, but the ref is unmoved.

83'

PEDRO FLUFFS HIS LINESSpain break and it's two on one with Pedro and Torres facing Friedrich in the German half. However, the Barca man goes for glory, trying to twist into space when a simple lay-off for Torres would have given the striker a clear shooting opportunity, and a golden opportunity for Spain to put this game to bed goes begging.

81'

SPANISH CHANGEIt's a controversial change as Torres replaces Villa up top for Spain. If Germany equalise then that could come back to haunt Del Bosque.

80'

GOING FOR BROKELoew hauls off a midfielder in the shape of Khedira to bring on Gomez to add more physicality to this late German charge.

78'

VULNERABLE ON THE BREAKGermany are throwing bodies forward now and are almost caught out by Villa for the second time in a matter of minutes, only for Mertesacker to get back and cut out the final ball. This game is far from over, but a Spanish second on the counter looks just as likely as a German equaliser at the moment.

76'

OZIL TO THE RESCUESpain break and Villa almost tricks his way clean through on the keeper, only to be denied by the back-tracking Ozil. The playmaker was Germany's last man and did brilliantly to nick the ball away from Villa there.

75'

KLOSE GOES CLOSEA Kroos free-kick almost picks out Klose at the back post, but Casillas is alive to the danger and comes out to claim.

74'

MORE ON THAT GOALPuyol made a charging run from outside of the box onto a Xavi corner and pummels a header into the back of the net from around the penalty spot. It's a stunning goal from the centre-back and a deserved lead for Spain.

73'

GOOAAALLL!!!Carlos Puyol scores with a header! It's 1-0 Spain!

68'

BEST CHANCE FOR GERMANYOzil's dinked ball finds Kroos in space running onto the ball at the back stick, but the substitute's first touch of the game sees him only find Casillas. That was a real chance for Germany to stun Spain!

66'

INJURY WORRYKhedira is struggling with a knock and Germany may have to be forced into making their third and final change earlier than they would have liked.

64'

NO PENALTYRamos goes down under pressure from Podolski in the box, but the ref is having none of it, and replays suggest that the official was spot on.

62'

A SECOND GERMAN CHANGETrochowski has flitted in and out of the game, but has played his final part, making way for Kroos in midfield.

60'

KLOSE CAN'T KEEP IT DOWNA Ramos header falls to Klose in the box, but the hit-man can't keep his shot down and it flies over the bar.

58'

WIDE AGAINPedro has another crack from distance and sends Neuer scrambling as his shot skims the outside of the right post. The Spanish have laid siege to the Germany box for the last five minutes and will feel that they should have opened the scoring.

57'

INCHES IN ITAlonso picks up the loose ball and turns Iniesta into space on the left of the box. His driven cross-shot fails to hit the target, but is just fractionally too strong for the sliding Villa at the far post. That was the closest Spain have come to opening the scoring and they ripped the German defence apart at ease.

56'

SMART SAVEAlonso tees up Pedro, who forces a terrific stop out of Neuer with a low drive.

54'

VILLA CURLS A SHOT WIDEVilla drifts out onto the left and curls in a shot aimed for the far bottom corner, but fails to hit the target. Spain have been on top again since the break, but still lack a real cutting edge.

50'

GERMANY CHANGEBoateng looks surprised as he makes way for Jansen on the left of the German defence. That's a slightly odd decision, but may have something to do with Pedro's apparent switch to that flank at the start this half.

48'

THAT'S MORE LIKE ITAlonso has a go with his left foot this time after a lovely lay-off by Xavi, and almost finds the bottom corner. A sprawling Neuer looked beaten and was relieved to see the ball fizz wide.

47'

BRILLIANT BY PEDROPedro beats a string of German defenders as he breaks into their half and finally pulls the ball back for Alonso to hit from outside of the box, but the Real midfielder doesn't catch it right and the ball slices wide of the left post.

46'

NO END PRODUCTRamos' silky spin and pass puts Pedro into space down the right, but his cross is over-hit and evades the waiting Villa in the box.

46'

SECOND HALFSpain get the ball rolling in the second half and immediately slip into the old keep-ball routine.

45'

HALF-TIMEThe whistle goes to bring an end to a fascinating first 45. Replays show that the late Ramos tackle on Ozil was outside the box, which was the main talking point of the half.

44'

NO PENALTY!Ozil goes down in the box, but the referee waves away German claims for a penalty. It was good play by Klose to put Ozil in and he was pressurised by Ramos, who looked to have clipped the playmaker's heels, but the referee disagrees. Have Germany been denied a rightful spot-kick there?

43'

PEDRO WINS A CORNERPedro twists and turns in the box, but takes too long to get his cross in and is closed down by Boateng. He does win a corner, but it was a good chance to get the ball into the box.

40'

SPAIN THE BETTER TEAMThe Spanish have dominated possession and look the more likely team to score, but are still falling into the trap of trying to score the perfect 'tippy-tappy' goal. Germany will be happy to still be in it after seeing so little of the ball.

38'

HAVE A GO!Ozil tries to jink his way into the box when a shot would have been the more obvious option. Again it was Lahm who set up the opportunity, and when the full-back does manage to venture forward he is causing Spain problems.

36'

VILLA A CONSTANT THREATThe tournament's joint top-scorer is finding space in the inside right channel, but has yet to be picked out by one of the midfield pass-masters. He gives Iniesta an earful after another opportunity is missed.

34'

SCHOOLBOY MISTAKESGermany track back but all of the white shirts follow the ball, leaving Villa all alone out on the right flank. Any sort of decent ball by Iniesta would have sent the striker into space, but the Barca man's pass is poor and the chance goes begging.

32'

CRACKS IN THE SPAIN DEFENCEAnother German corner causes panic in the Spanish defence. After a spot of pin-ball, the danger is cleared, but far from comfortably.

30'

SMART STOPLahm ventures forward down the German right for the first time and picks out Trochowski in space. The midfielder has a pop and forces Casillas into a sprawling save to tip the ball around the post.

28'

WELL WIDEAlonso goes for goal from distance, but slices his shot and skews it wide of the right upright.

27'

LENIENT REFEREEINGRamos clatters into Podolski and catches him late on the ankle with an extremely poor tackle, but escapes a booking. The German is still off the field receiving treatment and it looks as though he may be unable to continue.

25'

THAT'S NO USE!With Spain dominating possession, Germany really need to keep the ball - but Podolski isn't doing his side any favours, giving the ball away again for the third time in a matter of minutes.

23'

CROWDED OUTKlose spins on the edge of the box looking for space to shoot, but he is outnumbered six to one and is crowded out.

21'

THREAT ON THE COUNTERGermany break from the corner and white shirts stream forward, scenting an opportunity. However, a misplaced Podolski lay-off breaks the attack down and Spain almost punish them, just failing to pick out the run of Villa in behind.

20'

WONDERFUL BUILD-UPXavi and Iniesta have an almost telepathic understanding on the field and carve open Germany again with a lovely one-two, the latter winning a corner as a result.

18'

WASTED OPPORTUNITYRamos bursts down the right and has the chance to pick out a ball into the box with team-mates surging forward. However, he instead goes for goal from an impossibly acute angle and skews his shot high and wide of the near post.

15'

SLOPPY KEEPING Casillas comes out to deal with a Germany corner, but flaps wildly at the ball and makes only minimal contact. Thankfully for the Spanish captain the ball ran away to safety, but that won't give his central defenders much confidence after a string of uncharacteristic errors in this tournament.

14'

SHOULD HAVE BEEN INIniesta's driven cross finds Puyol in space in the box, but the centre-back puts his header over the bar. The Barca man has apparently been suffering from blurred vision this week - maybe he went for the wrong ball...

11'

HORRIBLE MEMORIESGermany have been chasing Spanish shadows so far and the memories must be flooding back of their 1-0 defeat to this very opposition in the Euro 2008 Final. On that night they were passed to death, and the early signs are worryingly similar here.

9'

A BIT TOO CALMKlose puts both Pique and Casillas under pressure after a rare misplaced pass by Alonso, and almost exposes their casual approach to clearing the ball.

7'

FIRST CHANCE FOR SPAINPedro drifts in field, this time from the right, and slides a lovely pass through to Villa. Friedrich is left for dead by the in-form front-man, who gets a toe to the ball, but it is well blocked by the on-rushing Neuer. Worrying signs for Germany there, they were carved open by one pass.

6'

A LIVELY INTRODUCTIONPedro has been the most impressive player on the pitch so far, probing the German defence with some clever runs from both flanks.

4'

UNWELCOME VISITORIt says a lot about the game that the most notable action has been the appearance of an unwelcome fan charging across the pitch. He is predictably and swiftly removed before Spain get back into their usual passing rhythm.

2'

CAGEY OPENINGSpain have kept the ball for the opening moments of the game, with both teams not willing to take any risks at such an early stage.

1'

CONTRASTING PEDIGREEThe Spanish fans need no reminding that this is their first ever World Cup semi-final appearance in a history of underachievement in major tournaments. In absolute contrast, this is Germany's 11th taste of this stage, and the sixth time they have reached the last four in their last eight World Cup campaigns - a remarkable record!

1'

KICK-OFFGermany get the game underway in Durban.

0'

HERE WE GO!With the formalities done and dusted and all of that pre-match hype out of the way, it's time for the real business at hand.

0'

HERE COME THE TEAMSThe 22 players emerge from the tunnel behind the familiar flags of their respective nations. The atmosphere in this wonderful stadium is buzzing and it's time for the anthems.

0'

TALKING TACTICSThe decision to bring in Pedro makes a great deal of sense for Spain. The German side have yet to be really stretched defensively out wide, so with Pedro playing on one side of a front-three in his usual Barca position, and Iniesta on the other flank, it is a tactic that could pay off for the European Champions. For Germany, the key will be how Ozil, Trochowski and Podolski occupy the central Spanish midfield pair of Alonso and Busquets. Neither have excelled in their defensive roles in this tournament, and if any of the German attacking midfielders find space in front of the defence then Klose will be looking to pounce and expose Puyol in the same way he did to Terry.

0'

THE LINE-UPS ARE INBoth teams make one change from their quarter-final victories. As expected, Torres is left on the bench, but it is not Fabregas who comes in. Instead, Vicente del Bosque opts for the more natural width of Barcelona's young starlet Pedro. Germany replace the suspended Mueller with the not inconsiderable talents of Hamburg playmaker Trochowski.

0'

THE REFYoung Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai is the man in charge tonight, his fourth and final game of what has been a hugely impressive tournament for the 34-year-old.

0'

THE VENUEThe glorious Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban makes its final appearance of the 2010 World Cup, hoping to survive major delays at Durban airport this afternoon and put on a fitting show for a game of such magnitude. Both of these teams started their South African campaign on this very ground, with dramatically different results. Die Mannscahft hammered Australia 4-0 in a sign of things to come for the free-scoring Germans, while Spain were stunned by the defensive ranks of Switzerland three days later. As long as the travelling fans make it in time, then a capacity 62 thousand crowd is expected.

0'

EARLY TEAM NEWSGermany's young star Thomas Mueller misses out through suspension, but manager Joachim Loew otherwise has a full contingent to choose from, with Sami Khedira, Arne Friedrich and Cacau all back from injury. Spain are expected to leave out-of-form Fernando Torres out of the starting line-up, although his likeliest replacement, Cesc Fabregas, is a doubt after picking up a knock to his right leg in training.

0'

PREVIEWAfter the drama of last night's first semi-final, it's time for Spain v Germany, a clash between the best squad in the tournament and the most in-form side in South Africa. Before the 2010 World Cup kicked off few would have backed the Germans in a head-to-head against tonight's opponents, but Joachim Loew's side have since stunned the world with some scintillating football, scoring more goals than any other team and smashing both England and Argentina in the knock-out stages so far. It would, however, be unwise to write of a Spanish side with immense talent in their ranks, and with David Villa in such scintillating form it would take a brave man to back against them scoring at least one this evening.

0'

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